High strength, stable and self-healing copolyimide for defects induced by mechanical and electrical damages

Self-healing of damage is a common phenomenon in organisms but is hardly ever encountered in rigid polymer materials. For next-generation electricals and electronics, it is crucial to accurately mimic organisms to detect and heal mechanical/electrical damage. Herein, disulfide bond exchange is designed to introduce the self-healing ability in a copolymerized polyimide (copolyimide). A copolyimide insulation film with two diamine monomers is successfully prepared, which also possesses good self-healing ability after being mechanical/electrical damaged. Furthermore, the self-healing copolyimide film still maintains its good Young's modulus (E) >4 GPa, high thermal stability with glass transition temperature (T-g) >190 degrees C, and excellent insulation property with breakdown strength (E-b) >300 kV mm(-1). The combination of the simple copolymerization and unique self-healing ability is suitable for high T-g polyimide to make this an ideal method for insulation field.

Automated summary

The self-healing ability has been introduced into a copolymerized polyimide through disulfide bond exchange. The resulting copolyimide insulation film possesses good self-healing ability, high mechanical and thermal stability, and excellent insulation properties. This method shows great potential for application in the insulation field.